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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 11th, 2023

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  • Indeed, forums are almost gone. In particular, I miss one forum about science fiction, one about aeromodelism, one about electric vehicles (another still exists) and one about anarchism. An interesting hold-out in the country where I live, is a military forum, where rules say that respectful discussion is the only kind of discussion accepted - ironically, the military forum has a peaceful atmosphere. But it could come crashing down much easier than a social media company.

    As for why forums disappeared - I think that people became too convenient. They wanted zero expense (hosting a forum incurs some expenses and needs a bit of time and attention), and wanted all their discussion in one place. Advertisers wanted a place where masses could be manipulated. Social media companies wanted people to interact more (read: pick more heated arguments) and see more ads - and built their environments accordingly. Not for the public good.

    I think the most urgent job is getting rid of algorithmically steered social media - sites where one can’t know why something appears on one’s feed.


  • In Estonia, one may not prevent passage along the beach of a body of water (sea, lake, river).

    Some land owners try. It’s legal to ignore them and travel along the shore, but if a river valley is densely settled and every tenth person has built a fence too far, it becomes somewhat harder to fish there.

    As for dry land - if it’s not fenced in, then from dawn to dusk, without damaging crops or landscape, one is allowed to roam on foot, with a bike or boat, on skis or riding a horse.

    Unless the owner forbids:

    • by default, it’s allowed to set up a tent for up to 24 hours
    • by default, it’s allowed to pick the fruit and herbs of naturally growing plants and mushrooms (not planted or sown) and fallen wood

    Making a fire is another matter. For this, getting the agreement of the owner is required. It’s also totally forbidden by fire departments at certain times.